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THIS WEEK'S MESSAGE FROM INTERIM PRESIDENT JONES

This week’s Fall 2013 Student
Convocation was a delightful opportunity to share information with our
students. Their energy and optimism is always refreshing, and it was clear that
they care deeply about their University.

In addition to answering students’
questions, I recapped much of the information presented to faculty and staff
last month in my State of the University address.

Now that the official census date
has passed, I was able to update my presentation with our final enrollment
figures for the fall 2013 semester.

I reported that our student
headcount stands at 8,243, a decline of 4.2 percent compared to last year. The
headcount for Cal U undergraduates decreased by nearly 3.5 percent compared to
fall 2012 figures, and graduate enrollment dropped by 6.9 percent.

These figures are sobering,
because the University relies on tuition and fees for about two-thirds of its
budget. Combined with a sharp rise in personnel costs and flat funding from
state appropriations, even this relatively modest dip in enrollment increases
the financial pressure on our University at a time when we are just beginning
to address deferred maintenance issues and replenish our fund balance.

Some of Cal U’s current enrollment
challenges can be traced to the University’s rapid expansion just a few years
ago. Students who entered as freshmen in 2009, 2010 and 2011 — record-setting
years when the headcount topped 9,000 — are completing their studies and
collecting their diplomas. To stabilize our enrollment, we need to replace
those large classes of graduating seniors.

At the same time, the pool of new
high school graduates is shrinking, especially in western Pennsylvania. And as
the cost of higher education continues to climb, too many students are leaving
the University or “stopping out” to work before earning their degree. We must
be prepared to address the twin challenges of recruitment and retention now and
in the years ahead.

I was heartened by one very bright spot in our enrollment
report, however: We have made excellent progress in attracting new students. In
fact, our freshman headcount increased by an astonishing 23 percent compared to
fall 2012 — a promising sign that we are moving in the right direction.

Nevertheless, we all must work
hard to help stabilize our enrollment. Through our words and deeds, we can all
be champions for Cal U.